damned_institute | Day 37: Intercom, Evening

"And I believe it's time to start wrapping up the day," was what the Head Doctor said after the intercom's initial jingle. "Now that everyone's all cleaned up, I think it's time for some... that's right, dinner!

"Tonight, we're serving some scrumptuous rotisserie herb chicken, seasoned with rosemary, lemon juice, and other delicious seasonings. On the side, we have cooked asparagus with bits of grilled onion, as well as small roasted potatoes with garlic and butter; for dessert, we'll be serving vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. Our normal assorted drinks and specialized diet alternatives are available.

"Some of you might find that you have new roommates since your old ones were fortunate enough to recover and leave us. Hopefully, you'll be able to see them again the next time we have visitors if you wish, but in the meantime please treat your new bunkmates kindly.

"I believe that's all for now. I hope you had a wonderful day and that you have a delicious dinner! ...Well, you'll definitely be having a delicious dinner, but there's nothing surprising about that, is there? Hahaha..."

With a seemingly good-natured chuckle, the Head Doctor turned off his mic.

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"Sai-chan!" Honey's lukewarm attitude became a little more bubbly and he smiled as his friend entered the room. That smile doubled, if possible, when the boy delivered his dessert to Honey's tray. "Eee! Thank you Sai-chan! Desserts are the best thing for a hard day!"

He kicked his short legs back and forth on the edge of the bed, deciding to eat both helpings of ice cream first and then, with what room he had left, he'd start on the other food.

"Today was so sad! I talked to three new people and they wouldn't even let me call them -chan! One of them was a lady and she got really scary when she was mad!"

The ninja blinked at Honey some. The idea of others not allowing him to add that honorific really bothered him that much? It must be an important aspect of the overly cute persona the boy tended to put on. He didn't know of anyone else like that.

"I'm... sorry things didn't go as well as they could have," he offered in terms of comfort. His smile was a bit weaker than usual, as he didn't have any idea of the best way to respond to this. "Some people prefer a less informal term."

Honey tried not to look like a child being scolded when Sai told him what he already knew. Not everyone liked to be called by such informal names. "But they sound cuter that way," he pouted, ice cream spoon sticking out of his mouth.

"And I stopped when they asked me to, I just slipped a little bit sometimes." He sighed, unable to figure out what the big deal was. It seemed so simple, but people always got upset over the littlest things. "I'll try really hard to be better," he promised after a moment.

Sai watched Honey, expression unreadable. He was so childlike. It was odd. Wanting things to sound cute? That was something a teenage girl might be interested in, but a boy?

"I don't understand you," he said out loud. He had a difficult time when it came to understanding most adults. Children were an entirely different sort of being, and his roommate was apparently somewhere in the middle.

"Don't... understand?" he repeated it back to Sai, looking at him with confusion for a moment before he seemed to get what it was the other boy was asking.

"Nn... I know it's kind of strange," he sighed, smile fading as he tried to explain. "But it's what makes me happiest. People take themselves so seriously and I used to do that too. But I hated trying to be someone I'm not. Does it bother you?"

The ninja shook his head, still baffled. "It doesn't bother me in the sense that I'm annoyed by it," he answered honestly. "I simply don't understand it, is all." He frowned, staring at the unfinished meal in his lap as he thought.

"How do you know?" He asked suddenly, still frowning as his gaze shot up to Honey again. "How do you know that this is... how you are? As opposed to how you're not?" It was a confusing question even to Sai, and he wasn't sure he'd worded it correctly.

Ah, so Sai was really just curious? He supposed that made sense. Most people were trying to figure things out and find themselves at around the same age. Honey had gone through the same thing not long ago.

"Oooh, okay," Honey nodded slowly, taking the last few bites of his sundae. "Mm... well I guess it's just a feeling. When I was forcing myself to be the person my family wanted me to be, I was really unhappy."

He shifted a little in his seat and set his bowl down, trying to decide how badly he wanted to eat the actual good-for-him food. "I tried really hard to be grown up and manly and strict, but I just didn't enjoy it at all. But things that are childish and cute and fun, letting go of what people want me to be and just doing the things that make me happy, that's the best way to be me."

"Things that make you happy...?" Sai frowned again, pulling his legs up so that he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, food now set to the side. What things made him happy? Did anything? There was his artwork. It was crucial to his techniques, but did he enjoy doing it? He couldn't really say. It had been so long since he'd really tried to focus on something he did only for himself.

He watched Honey for a few moments. He did seem to be a very happy person, and yet some of the things he did just seemed so utterly ridiculous. And wouldn't eating nothing but sweets all the time eventually be bad for him? Would happiness now make up for that in the long run? It seemed a bit much. He'd have to give it more thought.

"Mm hmm!" Honey nodded enthusiastically.

"What makes Sai-chan happy?" For all the talking he did at dinner, he rarely heard much from Sai, especially about himself. Just that he was a ninja, even if his costume was kind of funny. Honey ignored the rest of his food for now, looking expectantly at the other boy as he hugged his pink bunny to his chest.

"What makes...?" Sai had to stop there, brows furrowing in thought. It had been so long since he'd felt real happiness. He wasn't sure what would cause it now. His brother had made him happy - even as they were in the middle of their ROOT training he was sure of that. Shin was gone now, though, no matter what or who he'd seen yesterday.

He shook his head. "I... I don't know what makes me happy. I lack... real emotions." They were in him somewhere, buried deep. He knew that now. But as for how to bring them out...

Honey could actually understand that too. Sort of. While he hadn't closed off his emotions completely, it'd been a real struggle to push everything in and keep a stoic exterior. Or as stoic as he could manage at least.

"Then we should play tomorrow," Honey decided, pounding his little hand in his fist. "I'm sure we can find out what the things are that make Sai-chan happy. Everyone has emotions, sometimes they're just harder to find." It made sense, to him at least. Takashi was easy for him to understand and other people thought he had no emotions at all. They were there, they were just... subtle. Maybe Sai was the same way.

Day 37: Intercom, Evening

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